Bavijas Review

Globally, oil and gas development and production often require high capital expenditures (CAPEX), high technological expertise and the ability to manage investment risks. Oil companies that don't have the financial wherewithal to undertake such capital-intensive investments or projects will either bow out of the bidding process or adopt strategic approaches that could help them develop enough capabilities to overcome challenges waiting up front. Usually, two contractual arrangements are adopted to achieve this. One is a Joint Venture (JV), while the other is a Production Sharing Contract (PSC). What is a Joint Venture (JV)? A joint venture (JV) is a strategic equity-sharing agreement where two or more parties combine resources to execute an oil & gas transaction and mitigate the risk associated with the business. You may also call it a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA). Typically, the operators of a JV asset each have to contribute funds, in a proportionate degree, to develop the

Early this week, the first batch of crude was charged into the giant tower at the 650,000BPD Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Nigeria, further raising the hope of a major oil-producing nation whose citizens have depended on fuel imports for years. As products from the plant are expected to hit the market by month's end, ETERNA Plc has secured a deal with Dangote Group to become the official domestic distributor of their products in Nigeria.  However, many other petroleum marketers across Nigeria continue to lobby for a place in the queue . OUR TOP NEWS THIS WEEK China : 80% of the global solar panels market is controlled by China, which flooded the market with cheap panels and helped accelerate renewable energy deployment worldwide in 2023. Solar is the fastest-growing renewable energy in the world today, IEA says.  Nigeria : NNPC Ltd is calling on reputable operators with track records who will operate and maintain the 210,000 barrels per day Port Harcourt refinery.  World : The most po

In the world of venture capitalism there’s a word which many startuppers or entrepreneurs seem to hear often – unicorn. Do you know what that means? Read on! A unicorn is a privately-owned enterprise that’s valued at least one billion USD. We have a few such enterprises here in Africa; much less than what obtains in the US, and China. In the former, there’re are concentrated in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. Recent research by Bavijas shows Africa has at least 7 unicorns. Can you mention one? Flutterwave! Most African unicorns are Nigerian-owned or-based. Flutterwave is one, amidst Jumia, OPAY and Interswitch. Outside Nigeria we have Fawry, Chipper, MNT-Halan, and Wave.  It takes more than just innovative thinking for startups to assume a unicorn status. I hopefully believe Bavijas will someday be counted among the unicorns in Africa, whether or not I’m the CEO.

A ticker is a unique character (or symbol) that identifies a company’s share on a stock market. It can be just letters, numbers or mixed, and for some security houses, there can be restrictions on the number of digits allowed For instance, Italian oil firm Eni simply goes by “E” on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) whereas the Nigerian beverage firm Champion Breweries goes by 'CHAMPION’ on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). All companies trading on the stock market each have a ticker. It is one of the criteria to get listed. As an investor, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with your company's ticker so you can track it easily and not confuse it for another. If Bavijas were to get listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) today, what ticker would you suggest for it? I'm contemplating BVJ.

  Wherever in the world you're reading this energy news review from, our team at Bavijas, an energy advisory firm, wishes to say a big welcome to you. That's one sunny side of technology; it brings us humans together regardless of where we might be. In this edition, we bring you selected energy news that dominated news headlines this week.  Read on. You'll like it. World : The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the world added a historic 510 GW of renewable energy (esp. solar) in 2023, equivalent to the combined power capacity of Germany, France, and Spain.📊📊 • Nigeria : NNPC Ltd announced an unaudited profit of N2.54 trillion in 2022, the highest since its inception in 1977. Recall it made a profit of N674.1 billion in 2021. Though profit for 2023 is not yet known.📉📉 • Uganda : The electricity regulator in Uganda plans to subsidise tariffs for commercial to medium-sized industries from January to March 2024, in a bid to ease their operational cost and boost economi

The US has just vetoed a recent UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza. Out of the Council’s 15 member countries, 13 agreed they wanted the war to end immediately. But the US blocked the deal from seeing the light of the day, while the UK abstained completely from voting.  Many people, including myself, are not happy with Israel’s continued bombardment of civilian enclaves in the Gaza Strip. I wouldn’t care much if Israeli soldiers were killing the Hamas “terrorists” but appalling statistics on the ground reveal the Israeli army has killed way more civilians - in their thousands - than the actual terrorists themselves, triggering a massive humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and raising geopolitical concerns. The Turkish government of President Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel a “terror state”. Jordan has pulled out of a hitherto pending energy-for-water deal with Israel. Iranian delegates boycotted a UN-led climate discussion at CO

Mining of cryptocurrency is the process by which new coins are created, and transactions are verified, requiring substantial computational power. It is often an energy-intensive activity that takes a huge amount of power out of the grid, and it remains a contentious issue amongst environmentalists and crypto critics. However, market analysts point out that the energy consumption of Bitcoin is minuscule compared to that of traditional financial institutions. According to data made available by the International Energy Agency (IEA), and quoted by Forbes Advisor, the banking system consumes over 200 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, whereas bitcoin mining uses only 127 TWh. While there is a big difference between the two figures, the energy consumed by crypto mining is nonetheless huge and raises concerns. That usage exceeds the entire annual electricity consumption of countries like Norway and Sweden. More so, Bitcoin uses 707 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per transact

Knowing how to prolong the lifespan of your clothing is crucial when aiming to create a more sustainable wardrobe. We've all experienced the frustration of ruined garments due to improper washing or storage methods. I've been there myself and quickly learned my lesson because each piece of clothing holds sentimental value for me. If something gets ruined, it can leave me feeling disappointed for a long time. When we neglect to take care of our clothing, we contribute to the growing waste problem, as discarded clothes end up in landfills or are incinerated worldwide. This not only harms the environment but also wastes our hard-earned money since many of these pieces have value, even if purchased from a thrift store. To address this, it is crucial for both ourselves and the environment to ensure our clothes have a long lifespan. Here are six effortless ways to achieve that: 1. Invest in High-Quality Clothing Purchasing higher-quality clothing significantly impacts the lifespan of

Happy Eid al-Kabiru and welcome to the midweek edition of the Bavijas newsletter. Intro: President Tinubu returns from a two-day official visit to France where he attended the New Global Financing Pact Summit hosted by President Macron in Paris. At the event, HE Tinubu explored financing networks from which to tap FDI.  With me is Daniel Bassey, a talented co-editor, to take you on this informative bliss ride. So enjoy! OUR TOP PICKS TODAY: 👷‍♂️ Works on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Federal Ministry of Works and Housing announced the one-week suspension starting today to ease the corridor amidst heavy traffic resulting from Muslim faithfuls travelling for the Sallah celebration. 🌎 Companies will face more pressure. Oil companies will now be required to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global policies aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing. 🇷🇺 Putin vows to crush the Wagner group. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mastermind of the Mo

An aerial view of Lagos blue rail line, Source: Vanguard

Tar sandstone, from California, USA. Source: WikiCommons

  As I had indicated in the opening of my last newsletter edition, pouring different colours of paint into a bowl only produces a grey colour; not a bright one.  President Tinubu must not attempt to fix Nigeria in one day. Recall, Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither would Nigeria. He must be alert to the sensitivity of the particular socioeconomic condition of the average Nigerian. Mind you, an average Nigerian is ‘poor’. HE Tinubu shouldn't “suffocate the poor”. It is important for him not to do so. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS: ➡️ President Tinubu appoints Ms Olu Verheijen as Special Energy Adviser. She holds a B.Sc in Economics and Political Science as well as an M.Sc in Public Policy and was formerly the Deal Lead at Shell where she helped broker strategic oil and gas deals.  ➡️ CNG: Nigerians continue to press for CNG as an alternative to petrol. Independent petroleum marketers say that remains the only viable option on the table. ➡️ Electricity tariff to increase in Nigeria beginn

In the early hours of today, June 21, 2023 I culled an old text from my bookshelf and ran into a page that narrated how Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher of antiquity died. Read on! Socrates, a father of three sons taught independent thinking to students from whom he never charge a dime.  Being the son of a stone cutter, Socrates may have lived a poor life, way below even that of his students who hailed from wealthy families.  Shockingly, his students liked his teachings but their parents didn't. He never even wrote a book but those he taught or mentored have since written many essays about him. Plato is the most famous of his students. Another is Xenophon. The writings of these great men revealed to the whole world who their master Socrates truly was. Can you recall Plato’s Apology ? That book speaks volumes about the life and times of Socrates. You should read it. In fact, Socrates’ post-death influence is greater than the influence he had while on Earth. Socrates would alwa

Canadian firm Gibson Energy has agreed on a deal with Buckeye Partner to buy the South Texas Gateway oil terminal for some $1.1 billion in cash. The deal will give Gibson access to “one of the most competitive liquids terminal and export facilities globally with direct pipeline connections to low-cost, long reserve-life resource supply, and very large crude carrier (“VLCC”) capabilities, the company said in a  press release . The South Texas Gateway terminal is the second-largest oil export facility in the United States with a storage capacity of 8.6 million barrels. There is also the option of boosting this to 10 million barrels. The South Texas Gateway terminal was  completed  in 2020 to take advantage of the world’s growing thirst for U.S. crude. First exports left the port in July of that year. The facility has two deepwater docks capable of handling some 800,000 barrels of crude daily. “To add 1 mmbbl/d of export capacity and nearly 9 million barrels of terminals storage in a high

French TotalEnergies,  one of the top  international oil and gas  companies  operating in Nigeria, on Tuesday ,  June 13, 2023 ,  revealed it has made a major oil find offshore Nigeria under the Oil Mining Lease (OML 102). The oil discovery, dubbed “Ntokon-1AX discovery” has the prospect of sustaining commercial  production  that would culminate in increasing Nigeria’s oil reserves which  have  been hovering around 37 billion barrels for many years now. NTOKON translates to Pepper in the language of the nearby locality of Akwa Ibom State. In a statement obtained by Vanguard, Total Energies is quoted to have said that NTOKON is located in shallow waters, 60 km off the southeast coast of Nigeria and is about 20 km from the  neighbouring  Ofon field facilities, still on OML102. Though  the  total volumes of oil found  aren't  clear yet, Ntokon-1G1 tested successfully up to a maximum rate of about 5,000 barrels per day of 40° API oil. Planned to be developed through a tie-back to these